Food Reactions--HELP!...for the young and old :)

I've been talking about gluten and casein and how they can really throw you or your child for a loop. We did just as they tell you NOT to do, and took James off of these proteins cold turkey.  I did not know what was happening when he began to literally climb the walls, flick the lights on and off, and try to push his sister out of the stroller--of which he had NEVER done before.  What was funny, is that it came just as fast as it went. My little tornado spun around that doctor's office (of course, it had to happen in public) like a Tasmanian devil wreaking havoc on everything in his path, then just as quickly, he was my quiet attentive boy that I had grown accustomed to having again.  I came home that day in tears, wondering what in the world was going on!  I opened one of my three trusty books that I had bought used off of Amazon right to the part that said, "Withdrawal Reactions."  You've got to be kidding, I thought.  But I had to remember that the body doesn't care whether the proteins came from an illegal syringe or from a "wholesome snack", it discerns them only as a drug, and that's how they have to be treated.

Alright, so I got through his withdrawals, thinking I had it made.  It was the beginning of my older kids' UPWARDS basketball season, and I was desperately trying to find a snack/candy/drink for James that we could buy at the game that was "legal."  Looking over the www.gfcfdiet.com website, I decided that Gatorade would be all that he could have.  So, we bought him a nice, blue, sugar-filled drink-like substance (we've come a long way!) thinking we had something safe.  I watched my little boy turn into a very happy, giggly monster, swinging madly at folks as they walked by him--something that my very stand-offish guy would have never done.  I was angry, sure that the drink must have casein!  I was ready to give the Gatorade somebodies a piece of my mind.  Then, as time went on, I saw more and more reactions coming to surface, so I started making note of each one. 

It's funny--sometimes people are warned, "You might have trouble with this, and this, and this..." But so many times I went backwards--we have trouble with these things...what in the world is it from, Lord?"  And He'd always give the answer.  I remembered the day I typed in ketchup, apples, grapes, vanilla etc. into Google, and surprisingly, came up with an extensive list and references to a diet known as the Feingold Diet.  The website had even more foods that I recognized we were having trouble with...GOLD!  Artificial colors and sweeteners are at the top of the list, then other foods based on phenolics/salicylate content, some of the healthiest food on earth.  I gave James a Granny Smith apple before a bath early on, and it was literally like I was trying to bathe a wildcat.  He ate some raisins on another occasion, and proceeded to the take a stick to a truck of one of our highly regarded friends that had stopped by to visit.  He was finally beginning to be potty trained as we worked on cleaning up his diet, but any high phenolic food would cause an accident, usually both kinds. We began to see when the "monster" would appear based on dark circles under the eyes and flaming red ears.  Jim and I didn't really need a food list: once we got the hang of it, we could see quickly which foods were giving him trouble.  I remember once going to a gastroenterology specialist at Children's during this time and being horrified because James was going bad quickly during the appointment, when I had been so careful not to give him anything...where did it come from?  I figured out the tongue depressor that the doctor used had artificial flavor on it--bad idea! It is quite an eye-opener how many places these chemicals lurk when you are working to avoid them.

Long story a little shorter--limiting the foods that were healthy on the Feingold List, and cutting out the chemicals/colors/preservatives that were poison brought us even closer to a leveled-out little boy. I've had a few folks around me use the Feingold Diet for their ADD/ADHD or trouble-with-learning kids with great success.  The actual diet follows a plan of stages, where you take foods out incrementally, then add them back in slowly.  I've found that with the greater the toxicity of the individual, the less this will work....clear as mud?  We can take high phenolic foods out of diets for months here, and try to add them in, and it seems as if we just started eliminating food the day before.  My two most metal-toxic kids at this point still have huge reactions to the Feingold foods.  My point is this: eliminating foods for life is not the answer.  The reactions to the food are SYMPTOMS of a toxicity problem.  For children with behavior problems, go low Feingold on school days so they can THINK.  The high phenolic foods can give you a huge headache, among other things. (See list below.)  Look at the website for more information. http://feingold.org/ I always long to share with people this diet and information when I see their children acting out and having problems--not because I think they are bad, and believe me, they can be verrrry bad, but because I know how horribly that child physically feels, even though they can't tell you.  Read the story of my sweet nephew, Will, and my brother and sis-in-law's experience with the Feingold Diet in the next blog entry.

ADHD, aggression, ODD, asthma, autism, bedwetting (and daywetting), depression, dyslexia, learning disability, ear infections, eczema, hives, urticaria, eye problems, headaches, migraines, IBS, OCD, seizures, sleep problems, speech problems, Tourette's syndrome, and violence.  This is a list off the website of symptoms that can be improved if not abated by implementing this diet, in conjunction with following a plan to lessen the toxic load of these kiddos (or grown-ups.)  May the Lord bless you and lead you--please let me know if you have any questions.